The Google Nexus Phones Will Now Be Branded “Pixel”

The Nexus line of phones will now be branded “Pixel”. The Google flagships coming out this year were codenamed Sailfish and Marlin and we’ve pretty much got the gist of what they will look like and feature but one big change is that they will no longer be branded with the Nexus logo. This news came today from Android Police and also contained tidbits about some new products like Google’s Daydream VR headset and Google Home, the company’s answer to the Amazon Echo voice activated speaker. All of this and more is coming on October 4th.

Pixel is a name that we’ve heard before in regards to Google. The Pixel C tablet and the Pixel 1 and 2 Chromebooks (flagships for the Chrome OS) have used the name. Now the Nexus phones are also being branded with it. It’s part of Alphabet’s hardware integration plan that basically restructures that division of the company.

The Pixel phones will probably feature Android 7.1 with a slew of Google exclusive features such as a Google system UI, a Nexus Launcher (now called a Pixel launcher no doubt) and Google wallpapers, and lots of other bells and whistles.

Pixel C Tablet

Another piece of news is that the two devices, the 5-inch Sailfish and the 5.5-inch Marlin will probably be known as the “Pixel” and “Pixel XL” respectively. The devices will be designed by HTC even though reports say that they’ll be marketed as the first devices built by Google. Previously there was news that the new Nexus devices would be modeled on the HTC 10.

One more thing about the Pixel brand is that they’re pretty nice to look at and overall, great hardware. Pixel Chromebooks uptil now have been premium class, expensive products that rival top class laptops in terms of pricing (north of $1000) and the Pixel C tablet is not cheap either, starting at $499. Does this mean that the Pixel phones will be pricier than the Nexus devices they follow? One doesn’t hope, because Nexus phones aren’t exactly big money makers in terms of global smartphone sales and their appeal is partly due to their relatively low price.

The Google Home Device showed off at the I/O conference

Google is coming out with more on October 4th. This includes the Daydream VR headset that was shown off earlier this year as a follow up to Cardboard at the I/O conference, Google Home which is a voice activated assistant that plugs in to your home and works with Chromecast, and 4K video playback on Chromecast.

It’s sure to be a day stuffed with tons of juicy news about the future of the company.